In the end, Brian Dawkins saw it coming. The 15-year veteran had gazed into the Broncos’ future and predicted how it would all look.

Now, 10 games into the season, defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley is exactly what Dawkins said he would be: a powerful presence in the middle of the defense and “just a great, great dude to be around.”

The Broncos’ defense continues to steadily climb out of the statistical abyss that was 2010, when Denver finished at, or near, the bottom of the NFL rankings in virtually every defensive category. During the makeover, the Broncos re-signed Champ Bailey, drafted linebacker Von Miller, got Elvis Dumervil back from injured reserve and, just as training camp opened, traded for Bunkley.

“We haven’t had a guy like that, not since I’ve been here,” Dumervil said. “He’s been like a monster in there. You see a big guy dominating in there, dominating the centers, you see the job he did dominating an all-pro center like (the New York Jets’ Nick) Mangold last week. That’s a difference-maker.”

“Everyone has their personal goals, their personal wants,” Bunkley said. “My main focus is to do whatever I can so I won’t be a liability on the team, won’t be a weakness, to do my job, do it right.”

Bunkley is athletically gifted enough to have been the 14th pick of the 2006 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, just three spots after the Broncos selected quarterback Jay Cutler. But after a rough start to his rookie season, in which he was Dawkins’ teammate, Bunkley never rose to the expectations that came with being a first-round pick.

Philadelphia traded him to Cleveland in August for a fifth-round pick, but the Browns quickly nixed the trade after a medical examination. (Bunkley suffered nerve and ligament damage to his left elbow a season ago, but he maintains the injury didn’t require surgery and would not have been an issue had he played with the Browns.)

The Broncos stepped in and traded a conditional draft pick to the Eagles for Bunkley, who was inserted into the starting defensive line almost as soon as he got here. He hasn’t missed a practice this season.

“He’s the guy we’ve been looking for,” Dumervil said. “You can have the pass rushers and the guys at corner, making interceptions, but if you’re going to be a good defense, you have to have that guy in the middle. He’s our guy in the middle.”

At first glance, Bunkley’s statistics — 23 tackles and no sacks — look modest. But with players such as Miller and Dumervil attacking the edges, Bunkley anchors the interior.

Bunkley said he’s been able to add “a little bit of weight working out here” since his post-lockout arrival. Having that extra bulk helps him hold his own.

“Maybe not the same quickness as high school, man,” Bunkley said with a laugh. “You want to get yourself to a weight you can manage, you don’t want to be too big and lose your quickness and you don’t want to be too small and lose your power. There’s a fine line between them.”

Dawkins, having watched the Broncos limp through last year’s 4-12 season, said Bunkley brought a refreshing attitude to Dove Valley, as well as a big body desperately needed.

“Wanting to be part of a solution because it’s important to him,” is how Dawkins described Bunkley’s outlook.

That was evident in the Broncos’ 1-4 start when Bunkley, often still wearing his grass-stained uniform, would be in front of his locker long after most of his teammates had gone after a game.

“Really, it’s a chance to reflect, just check out what I’ve done, things I can do better at,” Bunkley said. “I don’t hold up the bus or anything. But a lot of time my emotions are running each and every way. If you lose, you’re angry. If you win you’re super excited — last week I was super excited — but I want to hold it down, my area, that’s my objective.

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